tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Abstract 634: The impact of IL-4 on migration in triple negative breast cancer cell lines
Authors: Portia Andrews, Kevin S. Kimbro
Journal: Cancer Research (2023)

Abstract In the United States, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), an aggressive form of breast cancer (BCa), disproportionately affects women of African descent and contributes to racial disparities in BCa mortality. Various risk factors are thought to drive this disparity, including socioeconomic status, tumor characteristics, comorbidities, and quality of treatment. Complex diseases and environmental insults all invoke and/or disrupt host inflammation, with individual immune and variable responses to therapeutic agents being dictated in part by genetic variants. This latter has seldom been studied with regards to precision diagnosis and prognosis of individual patient responses, in the frame of geographical ancestry and TNBC. Interleukin-4 receptors (IL4R) have been shown to be upregulated in many epithelial cancers and could be a promising target for metastatic tumor therapy. Yet, IL4R overexpression and/or IL4R variants have not been evaluated in TNBC cell lines of varying genetic ancestry. In view of this, we investigated the effects of IL-4 treatment in four TNBC cell lines varying in proportions of West African Ancestry (WAA) in each cell line: MDA-MB-231 (0.019), HCC-1143 (0.012), HCC-1806 (0.807), MDA-MB-468 (0.803). The frequency of IL4R variants also differed in each cell line. We used high content live cell imaging to evaluate the effect of IL-4 treatment on cellular migration by measuring wound healing. We show that IL-4 treatment on TNBC cells enhances migration as indicated by increased wound healing when compared to non-treated cells. High glucose, at a concentration of 10 g/L, delays cell migration in IL4-treated TNBC cells. This data suggests that comorbidities, such as high glucose levels (i.e., uncontrolled diabetes) could impact tumor behavior and mortality disparities between populations. Citation Format: Portia Andrews, Kevin S. Kimbro. The impact of IL-4 on migration in triple negative breast cancer cell lines [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 634.
Abstract 644: Gut microbiota-derived metabolites as regulators of immunity in pre-cancer
Authors: Amir Hossein Mohseni, Sedigheh Taghinezhad-S, Pamela L. Beatty, Olivera J. Finn
Journal: Cancer Research (2023)

Abstract Introduction: Tryptophan (Trp) as an essential amino acid that can only be obtained through diet and is a precursor of serotonin and melatonin and required for protein and niacin biosynthesis. In addition, Trp is appreciated for its influence on both host and microbial metabolism. Trp is shunted into the Kyn pathway (mostly) and indolic pathway (bacterial degradation), especially in the immune cells. Both Kyn and Indole/indole derivatives, in part by activating the ligand-dependent transcription factor aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), can become dysfunctional in cancer. Most individuals with cancer such as colon cancer, exhibit increased L-kynurenine levels, which in part is explained by progression of immunosuppressive phenotype and excessive inflammatory signaling molecules. To date, studies in mice and humans have linked Kyn and AHR as potent modulators of host immunity to colon cancer (CRC). Nothing is yet known about their role in pre-cancer, during the development of adenomatous polyps. We hypothesized that increases in plasma Kyn and I3A and their receptor AHR on immune cells would be detected in patients with pre-malignant polyps, suggesting dysbiosis and increased colon cancer risk due to immune modulation. Methods: We measured with mass spectrometry Kyn and I3A in plasma samples of 88 polyp patients and compared to 22 colon cancer patients. We analyzed by flow cytometry PBMCs from 64 newly diagnosed advanced polyp patients (40-70 years old) and 9 age-matched colon cancer patients in order to evaluate AHR expression in different subsets of T cells, NKT cells and NK cells, and their possible association with exhaustion markers Tim-3, LAG-3 and PD-1, as well as Granzyme K, and the presence of immunosuppressive Treg and MDSC. Results: We showed high level of expression of gut microbiota-derived metabolites in plasma of colon pre-cancer compared to cancer patients. We identified CD8+ T effector memory cells (TEM) as primary T cell population expressing their receptor AHR in polyp patients, which had a statistically significant association with Granzyme K expression, which is a hallmark of inflammaging. Conclusions: Our results suggest gut microbiota-derived metabolites as potential mediators of immunosuppression in the setting of premalignancy, which could increase cancer risk and be targets of cancer-preventing strategies. Citation Format: Amir Hossein Mohseni, Sedigheh Taghinezhad-S, Pamela L. Beatty, Olivera J. Finn. Gut microbiota-derived metabolites as regulators of immunity in pre-cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 644.
Abstract 5477: An investigation to study differential gene expression of lung cancer cells, tumor associated macrophages, and bone marrow derived mesenchymal stems cells in the tumor microenvironment
Authors: Hirendra N. Banerjee, Joseph Hedley, Cheslsey Aurelus, Narendra Banerjee, Kuldeep Rawat, Quentin Reaves, Shennel Brown, Darla Gilmartin, Makieyah Liverman, Jazmine Cuffee, Elizabeth Cagle, Erik Armstrong, Brent Lake, Santosh Mandal, Somiranjan Ghosh, Stephen Beebe, Kamal Asadipour, Christopher Krauss, Santanu Bhattacharya, Tanmay Kulkarni, Zahidur Abedin
Journal: Cancer Research (2023)

Abstract Cancer is a public health crisis affecting approximately 19.3 million globally, annually. Lung cancer has the highest percentage of incidence and is responsible for 27% of cancer-related deaths. The prevalence of lung cancer worldwide led us to investigate differential gene expression in lung adenocarcinoma and small cell lung cancer cell lines in comparison to a healthy lung cell line. We also investigated the effect of lung tumor microenvironment to bone marrow derived pluripotent mesenchymal stem cells (PMSC) and tumor associated macrophages. This research involved cancer and healthy cell line culture with appropriate medium. Whole transcriptomic and small non-coding RNA sequencing and analysis by Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (Qiagen, USA), Quantitative RT-PCR and ELISA assays. We further studied morphological changes and differential gene expression in extracellular vesicles(exosomes) isolated from the TAM and TME exposed PMCs by atomic force microscopy and RNA sequencing techniques. The results of our investigation showed differential gene expression and novel core canonical pathways in the lung cancer cells, TME exposed TAM, and PMSC. We also observed morphological changes in TME derived exosomes from TAM and PMSC. RNA sequencing results showed differential gene expression of both coding and non-coding RNAs including tRNA fragments. Thus, our findings of this investigation led to identification of multiple cancer related genes and small non-coding microRNA, long non-coding RNA, and tRNA fragments which will have potential diagnostic and therapeutic target value that demands further future research. Acknowledgement: This research is supported by a grant from US NIH-NIGMS- 5T34GM100831-08 and US-NIH Grant# U 54 MD007597-31-5959. Citation Format: Hirendra N. Banerjee, Joseph Hedley, Cheslsey Aurelus, Narendra Banerjee, Kuldeep Rawat, Quentin Reaves, Shennel Brown, Darla Gilmartin, Makieyah Liverman, Jazmine Cuffee, Elizabeth Cagle, Erik Armstrong, Brent Lake, Santosh Mandal, Somiranjan Ghosh, Stephen Beebe, Kamal Asadipour, Christopher Krauss, Santanu Bhattacharya, Tanmay Kulkarni, Zahidur Abedin. An investigation to study differential gene expression of lung cancer cells, tumor associated macrophages, and bone marrow derived mesenchymal stems cells in the tumor microenvironment. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 5477.
Abstract 445: A next generation TEAD inhibitor with refined isoform specificity for superior safety &amp; efficacy
Authors: Florian Muller, Erkan Baloglu, Andrew D. Morley, Deepavali Chakravarti, Selvi Kunnimalaiyaan, Jeno Gyruis, Sharon Shacham
Journal: Cancer Research (2023)

Abstract The Hippo pathway is an important regulator of cell proliferation and one of the last major oncogenic pathways not yet extensively targeted in precision oncology. The Hippo pathway is executed by the YAP1/TAZ (WWTR1) co-activators and the TEAD family of transcription factors, which consists of four paralogs (TEAD1-4) with both redundant and unique functions. The transcriptional targets of TEADs include genes playing tumor-promoting roles, including pro-proliferative, immunosuppressive, and anti-apoptotic genes. A growing body of research points to the central importance of the Hippo pathway as a key driver of oncogenesis and as key resistance mechanism to inhibitors of the MAPK pathway or its upstream activators, such as receptor tyrosine kinases. Sporos BioDiscovery has developed novel inhibitors that reversibly bind to the palmitoylation site of TEAD transcription factors to block Hippo pathway activity. Sporos BioDiscovery’s internal bioinformatic insights were leveraged to fine tune the inhibitory activity against the four TEAD paralogs, to maximize efficacy and minimize toxicity. Key characteristics of the SPR1 TEAD inhibitors: (i) low nM, single-agent activity against multiple TEAD-dependent cell lines in vitro in established Hippo-pathway hyperactive mesothelioma cell lines as well as in several non-mesothelioma, cell lines without any obvious lesions in the upstream components of the Hippo pathway. (ii) activity against multiple tumor models in vivo with tumor regression observed even in large established tumors, a feat not previously reported with any other TEAD inhibitor. (iii) strong interactions with inhibitors of the MAPK pathway and inhibitors of its upstream activators, such as RTKs. (iv) favorable ADME profile in rodents, dogs and NHPs, as well as a favorable safety profile. In sum, SPR1 presents monotherapy opportunities in ultra-responder populations based on internal bioinformatic insights, while broader potential exists as an adjuvant for precision oncology targeted therapies, particularly within the MAPK pathway and its upstream activators. Citation Format: Florian Muller, Erkan Baloglu, Andrew D. Morley, Deepavali Chakravarti, Selvi Kunnimalaiyaan, Jeno Gyruis, Sharon Shacham. A next generation TEAD inhibitor with refined isoform specificity for superior safety &amp; efficacy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 445.
Abstract 1664: Discovery of a novel and potent TACC3 protein-protein interaction inhibitor targeting highly aggressive cancers
Authors: Ozgur Sahin, Erden Banoglu, Chaemin Lim, Burcu Caliskan, Emmanuel Cruz, Sotirios Stergiopoulos, Sridhar Vempati
Journal: Cancer Research (2023)

Abstract TACC3 is one of the most oncogenic members of the Transforming Acidic Coiled-Coil Containing (TACC) protein family highly overexpressed in multiple different cancers leading to worse prognosis. TACC3 is a key player in microtubule and centrosomal processes and is considered to have an important role in causing chromosomal instability leading to aggressive cancers. TACC3 also plays important role in DNA damage response mechanisms, hematopoiesis, epigenetics and immune functions by interacting with different protein partners. Inhibition of TACC3 by genomic approaches has shown significant reduction in growth of cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Given its multiple roles in cancer, TACC3 is an ideal therapeutic target for highly aggressive cancers. Here, using phenotypic screening and rational drug design, we developed AO-252, a novel small molecule TACC3 protein-protein interaction (PPI) inhibitor. Binding assays and kinome screening suggested the specificity of AO-252 to TACC3. AO-252 targets the interactions of TACC3 with its known protein partners e.g., Clathrin/KIFC1, BARD1 and MBD2/HAT complexes regulating mitosis, DNA damage response and epigenetic functions. Gene expression profiling in multiple cell lines further confirmed the various TACC3 pathways affected by AO-252. AO-252 showed low nanomolar potency in &amp;gt;200 cell line panel covering various cancer indications and spared the normal cells. AO-252 showed excellent oral pharmacokinetics and demonstrated strong tumor growth inhibition or regression in multiple xenograft models without any safety concerns. Currently, AO-252 is prepared for IND submission for Q1 2023 and will enter clinic in the first half of 2023 for the treatment of advanced solid tumors including triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSOC), and endometrial cancer. Citation Format: Ozgur Sahin, Erden Banoglu, Chaemin Lim, Burcu Caliskan, Emmanuel Cruz, Sotirios Stergiopoulos, Sridhar Vempati. Discovery of a novel and potent TACC3 protein-protein interaction inhibitor targeting highly aggressive cancers [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 1664.
Abstract 5825: TM4SF19 regulates oxidative stress-dependent YAP transcription in HNSCC
Authors: Eunbie Shin, Joon Kim
Journal: Cancer Research (2023)

Abstract Head-and-neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), which arises from epithelial cells in mucosal surfaces of the upper aerodigestive tract, is the sixth leading cancer worldwide with 40-50% mortality rates. YAP is a transcriptional regulator that plays important roles in cancer cell proliferation and survival. HNSCC shows the highest levels of YAP gene expression among various types of human cancers. However, the molecular mechanisms explaining upregulation of YAP expression in HNSCC are poorly understood. Excessive consumption of tobacco and alcohol are classical risk factors of HNSCC. Tobacco and alcohol generates metabolites that increase reactive oxygen species (ROS) to abnormally high levels. It is not known whether YAP expression and function are interlinked with the oxidative stress response in HNSCC. Here, we aimed to elucidate the mechanism of YAP upregulation involved in the progression of HNSCC under conditions of oxidative stress. To identify candidates for YAP expression regulators in HNSCC, we analyzed whole-genome siRNA library screening data and TCGA genomics data. We performed loss-of-function and gain-of-function experiments to elucidate the molecular mechanism of TM4SF19, which is the top candidate for mediating transcriptional regulation of YAP in HNSCC. TM4SF19 is one of the transmembrane 4 L six family proteins that have topological similarities to tetraspanins, but little is known about its biological function. We found TM4SF19 controls the expression of YAP gene by regulating GABPβ1, a subunit of the GABP transcription factor complex, which is known to bind and activate YAP gene promoter. We observed that the depletion of TM4SF19 reduced GAPBPβ1, thereby decreasing the transcriptional activity of GABP complex. Importantly, we observed that TM4SF19 was dimerized in response to oxidative stress and consequently mediates the upregulation of YAP transcription by ROS elevation. We further show that TM4SF19 knockdown significantly reduces key characteristics of malignant cells, such as active proliferation and migration. Our results suggest that TM4SF19 is not only a novel transcriptional regulator of YAP but also a strong therapeutic target to suppress the oncogenic activity of YAP, and also provide new clue to understand HNSCC tumorigenesis involving YAP and oxidative stress. Citation Format: Eunbie Shin, Joon Kim. TM4SF19 regulates oxidative stress-dependent YAP transcription in HNSCC. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 5825.
Abstract 3597: SUV420H2-mediated regulation of collective invasion in triple-negative breast cancer
Authors: Emily Campbell Whitt, Laura M. McLane, Paula M. Vertino
Journal: Cancer Research (2023)

Abstract Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in women and metastasis is the leading cause of breast cancer-related mortality. While the factors leading to metastasis remain poorly understood, epigenetic changes in the cancer cell are likely strongly associated with the shift from primary tumor to metastasis. There are several breast cancer subtypes, the most aggressive of which is triple-negative breast cancer which is difficult to treat in part because it is prone to metastasis. In the early stages of metastasis, cells from the primary tumor invade the surrounding tissue before breaking away and seeding metastases. In some cases, tumor cells invade as clusters of cells that migrate as a group and maintain their cell-cell contacts through a process known as collective invasion. These clusters of collectively invading cells have been shown to seed circulating tumor cell clusters that are more efficient at forming metastases than single tumor cells. SUV420H2 is a histone methyltransferase that trimethylates histone H4 lysine 20 (H4K20me3), an epigenetic mark associated with transcriptional repression. Triple-negative breast cancer has lower levels of SUV420H2 and H4K20me3 levels than more luminal subtypes. Our lab and others have found that downregulation or inhibition of SUV420H2 promotes increased plasticity in the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, a transcriptional program associated with cancer metastasis. Our objective was to use a three-dimensional tumor spheroid system to determine the role of SUV420H2 and H4K20me3 on breast cancer invasion. We found that in immortalized non-tumorigenic breast cells grown as spheroids in an extracellular matrix, knockdown of SUV420H2 promotes invasion. Treatment of triple-negative breast cancer spheroids with an inhibitor of SUV420H2 (A196) also leads to an increase in invasion, as well as a shift in invasive phenotype from one where cells invade as single cells to a one where cells invade as collective chains emanating from the central spheroid. This suggests that reduced levels of SUV420H2 and the associated changes in histone marks and transcriptional programming in triple-negative breast cancer promote a phenotypic shift from single cell to collective invasion and may be one factor contributing to the increased metastatic potential of this subtype. Future studies will focus on characterizing the effects of SUV420H2 loss on gene and protein expression as well as chromatin in invading cells in tumor spheroids. Citation Format: Emily Campbell Whitt, Laura M. McLane, Paula M. Vertino. SUV420H2-mediated regulation of collective invasion in triple-negative breast cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 3597.
Abstract 1188: IL-17/IL-17RA signaling in the pancreatic epithelium upregulates B7-H4 to promote tumorigenesis
Authors: Susana Castro Pando, Le Li, Rian Morgan Howel, Marilina Mascaro, Olivereen Le Roux, David Romanin, Erick Riquelme, Yu Zhang, Jay Kolls, Seyed Javad Moghaddam, Florencia McAllister
Journal: Cancer Research (2023)

Abstract Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is expected to overtake other cancers as the second leading cause of death from cancer. PDAC is distinguished by the early formation of a highly immunosuppressive fibro-cellular tumor microenvironment (TME). Our group has demonstrated that IL-17 is necessary for the development and spread of pancreatic cancer, but we have not yet identified the cellular compartment responsible for IL-17-mediated tumor promotion. We propose that early pancreatic carcinogenesis is mediated by modification of an immunosuppressive program and is dependent on pancreatic epithelial IL-17/IL-17RA signaling. We created mice with Kras activated and IL-17RA selectively deleted from the pancreatic compartment (KC; IL-17RAfl/fl). In order to specifically remove IL-17RA from hematopoietic cells, we implanted IL-17RA deficient (IL17-RA−/−) bone marrow cells into KC animals. While deletion of IL-17RA in the hematological compartment had no effect on the progression of pancreatic carcinogenesis, deletion of IL-17RA from the epithelial compartment delayed the development of premalignant lesions, indicating that the pancreatic epithelium is the compartment required for IL-17/IL-17RA signaling during tumorigenesis. Deletion of IL-17RA from the oncogenic epithelium resulted in increased cytotoxic CD8+T cells infiltration in the TME. To learn more about the transcriptional alterations brought on by the lack of IL-17RA in the pancreatic compartment we performed single cell sequencing of pancreas tissue of KC and KC; IL-17RAfl/fl. We found that the absence of IL-17RA in the pancreatic compartment had an impact on epithelial cells transcriptional profiles, with modulation of several immune pathways including regulation of B7-H4, a negative regulator of T cells through Eomes activation. We have generated pancreatic cancer transgenic animals that lack B7-H4 and found that KC; B7-H4−/− mice have delayed tumorigenesis and decreased immunosuppression. In sum, we describe a novel IL-17-mediated regulation of B7-H4 and unravel its function in pancreatic tumorigenesis. Citation Format: Susana Castro Pando, Le Li, Rian Morgan Howel, Marilina Mascaro, Olivereen Le Roux, David Romanin, Erick Riquelme, Yu Zhang, Jay Kolls, Seyed Javad Moghaddam, Florencia McAllister. IL-17/IL-17RA signaling in the pancreatic epithelium upregulates B7-H4 to promote tumorigenesis [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 1188.